Jesus said in Sunday’s upcoming gospel reading: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6)
It is a dynamic image to consider “living bread from heaven.” What would that be? Certainly the image holds grace — “from heaven” is like rainfall as a gift coming into our lives without our earning or deserving. Jesus comes to us as grace that we did not work to fashion, but can freely receive.
The next part sounded offensive to those who heard it in the gospel. They weren’t sure what to do with Jesus’ offering his flesh. It may sound a little off-putting to us, too. Do we want to eat “flesh” in this way? Yet again Jesus is down-to-earth. We need the very real, earthy, fleshy existence of food, friends, family, and a working society.
Martin Luther said daily bread includes everything needed for this life — including good government. Jesus gives his body, his life, his flesh for us all. This gift empowers us for living in our families, neighborhoods, and society. How have you experienced the grace of this gift recently?
Three Holy Days
In our tradition, we make space on Maundy Thursday to remember central parts of our faith story. We hear about the...
